Educating for Hope in Troubled Times: Climate Change and the Transition to a Post-Carbon Future

Year 2014, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 281 - 285, 31.12.2014

Danuta Pıróg

Abstract

For many years one of the themes which has been at the forefront of many teaching
conferences and debates devoted to the learning process is the aims of education. These
discussions still seem to cover – insufficiently – the aspect of the general goal of education,
i.e. how should we teach young people to prepare them well for a self-reliant and satisfying
adult life in society? Progressive globalization, and the escalation of several unwanted
environmental and social changes seem to be additional reasons for the statement that one
of the biggest challenges to the present educational system is to equip the student (in
addition to a variety of skills) with an attitude of openness, and a readiness to undertake
activities that lead not only to improvements in the quality of life of the individual but also
of the whole society, and a feeling of responsibility for the future of the Earth (from the
micro to macro scales). In brief, a crucial area of modern education is global education and
education for sustainable development, both meant as preparing people with a view of
themselves as global citizens, and also deep involvement in shaping the future of the Earth.
These targets seem to require a change in the way we understand education in general, from
education aimed at the “mental” side (intellect, intellectual rationalism), which refers very
little to new paradigms of development, to an education that presents a broad approach to
its role, scope, and tasks in the present and future world. Thinking and acting in categories
of responsibility for the present and the future require the shaping of “warm” values (i.e.
empathy, effectiveness, optimism). These attitudes and actions cannot be acquired without
a belief that they are important, necessary and accessible. Therefore I opened the book by
David Hicks entitled “Educating for hope in troubled times. Climate changes and the
transition to a post-carbon future” with great interest, because the title promised that it
would be devoted to the issues that I find especially important, i. e: education and
environment perceived in a new way: in the context of hope. 

Keywords

David HICKS

References

• HICKS, D. (2014). Educating for Hope in Troubled Times: Climate Change and the Transition to a Post-Carbon Future. IOE Press/Trentham Books.